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Arts Tasmania

Performing arts

The following resources may be useful to performing artists.

Awards and prizes

Australian Dance Awards
Created to acknowledge and honour excellence in the professional dance sector in Australia.

The Helpmann Awards
Recognises distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia’s vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, dance and physical theatre.

Patrick White Playwrights’ Award and Fellowship
The Patrick White Award is given annually for a full-length unproduced play of any genre. The Patrick White Fellowship is a position for an established Australian playwright whose work has been produced professionally in Australia within the past four years.

PACA Drover Awards
Recognises excellence in performing arts touring.

Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards
Aims to enhance the status of performing arts in Australia and recognise outstanding achievements in dance, drama, comedy, music, opera, circus and puppetry. The awards have a total prize pool of $175,000.

Information and resources

Arts Tasmania's newsletter
A monthly e-newsletter highlighting the latest Tasmanian, national and international arts opportunities as well as industry news.

Arts Wellbeing Collective
The Arts Wellbeing Collective is an Arts Centre Melbourne initiative, delivered in partnership with Entertainment Assist. The Arts Wellbeing Collective features workshops, training, and online resources designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of performing arts workers sector-wide.

ArtsHub
A subscription-based online resource for Australian Arts Workers including news, opportunities and job listings.

Artsadmin
Based in the United Kingdom, Artsadmin is a producing organisation for contemporary artists working in theatre, dance, live art, visual arts and mixed media.

Auspicious Arts Incubator
A creative hub for artists, which advocates for the independent performing arts sector in Melbourne.

AusStage
Provides an accessible research facility for investigating live performance in Australia.

The Black Book Indigenous Dancers Directory
Includes more than 2 700 listings of Indigenous organisations and individuals working across 95 professions in the arts, media and cultural industries.

RealTime
A critical guide to contemporary arts with a focus on innovation in performance, photomedia, film, video, interactive media and hybrid arts.

BlakDance
An initiative to  assist mid-career Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance artists by developing the national infrastructure for Indigenous dance.

Membership organisations and peak bodies

Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS)
Collects and distributes licence fees for the public performance and communication of its members’ musical works, and collects and distributes mechanical royalties for the reproduction of its members’ musical works.

Australian Plays Transform (APT)
APT is Australia’s national play development and publication organisation. It hosts the world’s largest online showcase and searchable database of the best Australian playwriting.

Ausdance
Ausdance is Australia’s professional-dance advocacy organisation.

Australia Council for the Arts
The Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body. It offers grants and initiatives in all major areas of arts practice.

Australia Council for the Arts - indigenous protocols
The Australia Council has produced five guides that cover protocols for producing Indigenous Australian media arts, music, performing arts, visual arts and writing.

Performing Arts Centres Association
The national peak body for performing arts centres, presenters and producers across Australia.

Drama Australia
A national peak organisation of state and territory drama education associations in Australia.

Live Performance Australia (LPA)
The peak body for Australia’s live entertainment and performing arts industry. LPA represents producers, venues, promoters, performing arts companies, festivals and industry suppliers.

Theatre Council of Tasmania
The peak body for Tasmanian Theatre, it undertakes strategic advocacy and coordinates initiatives to build the sector’s capacity and secure the creative future of theatre in the state.

Opportunities

Association of Performing Arts Presenters – America
An international networking destination for presenter organisations in the performing arts.

Australian Performing Arts Market
A one-stop opportunity for the world’s program-makers to experience the very best in new performing arts from Australia.

Big hART
A company of professional artists, arts workers and producers that works nationally, creating new works with inspiring communities. Projects work across artforms including theatre, film, television, painting, photography, dance, new media and radio.

Blue Cow Theatre
Commissions and develops new work, and produces new Tasmanian, Australian and international theatre. Additionally Blue Cow tours nationally, and offers development programmes for actors, directors and for emerging and established playwrights.

CINARS
A biennial platform held in Montreal, Canada, that brings together agents, presenters, producers and observers from over 60 countries.

Dancehouse
Dancehouse is a Melbourne-based centre for independent contemporary dance research, training and performance. Dancehouse offers residencies and space grants.

Kickstart Arts
Produces community-focused arts projects that link art and cultural issues with other sectors such as industry, welfare, health, education and science. Kickstart has a number of projects spanning across artforms that offer opportunities for all areas of the theatre and performance sector.

Mature Artists Dance Experience
Offers mature adults (50 years and older) dance and theatre skill development and performance opportunities, in which they can impart their particular understanding of the mature experience in our society.

Mudlark Theatre
A professional regional theatre company based in Launceston.

Next Wave
A biennial festival and development cycle dedicated to developing and presenting innovative work by young Australian artists. Spanning all artforms and encouraging interdisciplinary practice.

Performance Space
A national centre for contemporary interdisciplinary arts and hybrid performance practice. The Performance Space supports artists undertaking research and development through a residency program, training laboratories, workshops and forums.

Playing Australia
A national performing arts touring program that provides funding to companies, producers, venues, presenters and tour organisers to tour performing arts across state.

Salamanca Arts Centre
A non-profit, self-supporting arts centre with a mission to develop and promote the arts in Tasmania through leadership, inspiration, creativity and excellence in arts development, programs and facilities.

Showcase Victoria
An annual promotional event for producers and presenters involved in touring performing arts throughout Victoria and Tasmania.

Stompin Youth Dance Company
Based in Launceston, Stompin Youth Dance Company is for 14 to 26 year olds who are interested in generating dance that links regional youth culture with contemporary performing arts practices.

Tasdance
Tasmania’s professional dance company that produces, tours, has an education program and offers opportunities for all aspects of the theatre sector.

Tasmania Performs
Supports Tasmania’s performing arts sector with product and market development. In particular, it tours works in regional Tasmania in preparation for national and international touring.

Terrapin Puppet Theatre
A leading Tasmanian arts company that is recognised nationally and internationally as an innovator in digital puppetry. Terrapin develops original work, tours and has an education program.

Tasmanian Theatre Company
Aims to showcase the best of Australian and particularly Tasmanian theatre. The Tasmanian Theatre Company produces work, tours and runs an education program offering opportunities for all aspects of the theatre sector.

Theatre Network Australia
Advocates for the professional theatre industry and undertakes research, delivers professional development and develops the sector broadly to build capacity and sustainability.

The Theatre Royal
Australia’s oldest working theatre presents an annual program of live theatre, contemporary music, dance and entertainment.